Phil Armitage]I know some who consider the Guild a ******ed down test compared to the AFA test. I am not talking about ******ing a test down, my point is education.[/QUOTE]When you pass one of those tests maybe you can share your own opinion instead of someone elses. 
Using the term "******ed down" implies that at some time in the past the test was different or that it is an easier version of an existing test. Sort of like saying an apple is a ******ed down version of an orange. wrote:Day to day stuff, helping horses stay as sound as they can competeing or not.
The AFA certification tests have nothing to do with helping horses stay sound, nor is there a way to test that ability on one horse with a single test.
OTOH, considering the high failure rate, it appears that most of the folks taking it, for whatever reason, either don't understand the criteria or lack the skill to meet the criteria. Figuring out the criteria and learing to apply it is, IMHO, a tremendous educational process. The inferance is that somewhere along the way, one ought to be able to use the BASIC knowledge and skill gained in the process to help horses stay sound.
We need to be carefull of what we wish for. All this time farriers stress owner education. Well the day has come where owners are getting educated and can see what works and what does not work.
Besides educating horse owners that they have a CHOICE to use a certified farrier, it would benefit the industry for them to be educated about what farriers look for in a good customer. I've dumped more than my share of customers what had nice horses and nice facilities, but the owner thought that it was ok to jack my schedule around. For every horse owner that complains about farriers not keeping appointments, I can introduce you to a horse owner about whom farriers have the same complaint.
There's a whole bunch of nice horses in nice barns what can't keep a decent farrier because they treat hoof care as an afterthought. I really don't give a hoot about these people, but it's a darned shame that their horses have to suffer because of them. Maybe if the AFA could educate these folks about the "no foot no horse" thing, some of them would begin to believe it.
Educating horse owners about the
importance of regular hoof care is not the same as educating horse owners about farriery. I met a guy yesterday at the bank who told me he just bought his kid a pony. He asked me if he needed to have his "feet cut" more than twice a year, because the person he got the pony from said that was how often they did it. My answer was that, in my professional opinion, anything more than 6 weeks in summer and 8 weeks in winter was a clear case of negligence. He thought that it was only necessary to trim the feet if you were planning to take the pony to a show. Fact is there are a lot of horse owners what have owned horses for their entire lives that feel the same way. WHO is supposed to educate the people about
lameness prevention through regular hoof care? Their numbers are growing every day.
All the AFA needs to do is adopt a better education program that fits day to day needs and this will truely meet the mission statement.
Last I heard the AFA had a
testing program what measures a farriers knowledge and ability to perform tasks related to the day to day farriery needs of horses. The education program seems to be something that is left up to the individual to figure out for themselves. Then when you think you've got it figured out you can take their test to see where you stand.
Are you suggesting that the AFA should open a school? There are plenty of schools that teach the basics covered on the AFA certification exams. Sort of bugs me that some folks blame the schools for their student's performance. Far as I know, just about every farrier school covers the basics what are tested in the AFA CF exam. Once the AFA gets its certification promotion up and running, it will be interesting to see if future farriers start looking for schools what have certified farriers as instructors. At least then they would know that their teachers had passed a basic test.
Keep teaching a farrier to over trim the sole, over dress the horn and parimeter fit and the rest can make a liveing fixing problems and looking like heros.
You are implying that some organization teaches these things. I am not aware of any organization that teaches this stuff. Where did you learn it? Obviously you think it is wrong and that you have learned alternative methods. Therefore I can assume that you think you were originally taught wrong. Did the AFA teach you that? Are you assuming that because you see some farriers doing the job this way that they were taught to do it that way by some educational organization? What organization or school teaches farriers to over trim sole and over dress horn? What organization or school
teaches farriers to perimeter fit every horse?
Ya know it takes a lot more skill to perimeter fit a shoe to a well dressed hoof than it does to broaden the toe and set a shoe under on a distorted hoof. If it weren't so, a lot more folks would pass the AFA practical on the first shot. The ticking clock got me twice. But learning to fit shoes like that sure made it a lot easier for me to fit shoes according to what I think a horse needs. Far as I know, the AFA never gave me their opinion about how I should be shoeing horses day to day.